2021
Industrial Forum IRT in online-digital form a success
In line with the measures taken to contain the pandemic, this year the Industrial Forum IRT 2021 was exceptionally held online, registering excellent visitor numbers. One of the reasons for Forum’s success is that no compromises regarding its contents have been made for a different “medium” – almost 40 expert lectures were held online over two days under four thematic units (e-halls). All lectures were also recorded and the visitors are able to view the ones they missed later.
As usually, the first part of Industrial Forum IRT focused on business topics: our lecturers spoke about bringing innovations to market, developing own brands and leading the staff. Intra Lighting CEO Marino Furlan presented the best practices for launching breakthrough innovations, while dr. Robert Agnič, CEO of Plastika Skaza, talked about the company’s approach and track record in developing own brands. Iskratel CEO mag. Željko Puljić spoke about working with young people in the company and the »IN board« approach used in communication, leadership and collaboration. Alenka Hren from SPIRIT Slovenija and Marko Lukić from Lumar IG spoke about implementing sustainable business strategies.
Another hot topic was the digital transformation of companies of all sorts and sizes. The digital transition has already found its way into manufacturing and service environments, to then be boosted heavily by the corona crisis. There is no success without a good plan. The companies therefore require a comprehensive plan which accounts for all stakeholders – business, people and environment.
The future of engineering is multidisciplinary
The topic “engineers of the future” was discussed by the speakers at the roundtable: Female Engineer of the year 2020 Jasna Hengović from COSYLAB, mag. Jelica Lazarevič Lajovic from Iskratel, Tjaša Jereb and Miha Bobič, president of the ‘We are going to be engineers!’ initiative from Danfoss Trata. They compared the engineering profession to that of creators and researchers who strive for versatility. The speakers underscored that multidisciplinarity is the future of the engineering profession as the individual professional areas are becoming increasingly intertwined.
TARAS award goes to Danfoss Trata and the Jožef Stefan Institute
Danfoss Trata and the Jožef Stefan Institute are the recipients of this year’s TARAS award, presented by the Industrial Forum IRT organiser for the most successful collaboration between the business enterprise sector and the scientific-research sphere in the field of innovation, development and technology. This year, the TARAS award was presented for the development of intelligent actuators, which can be used with self-operated pressure regulators in the optimisation of district heating/cooling networks and substations.
“The purpose of TARAS award is promoting and emphasising collaboration between the business enterprise sector and the scientific-research sphere, resulting in innovation that wouldn’t be possible without this collaboration,” said dr. Tomaž Perme, head of Taras award committee, who presented the award together with Darko Švetak, Industrial Forum IRT organiser.
Žan Kozan from Danfoss Trata spoke about the main advantages and system efficiency for the customer: “Our system was installed in a German heating plant. The subsequent rise in efficiency has paid the investment back in just nine months.”
The expert commission has justified its decision with the fact that the two research groups collaborated through all product lifecycle phases, from concept to certification for placing the product on the market. The associates at Department of Systems and Control contributed the know-how that the research group at Danfoss did not have, but was necessary to develop a new family of intelligent actuators for the optimisation of district heating/cooling networks, also bringing a competitive advantage evident in three international patents and trademark protection. The research groups also collaborate successfully in marketing activities, product diversification and customization for specific applications. In addition to exemplary collaboration, which fulfils the necessary criteria for the TARAS award, the environmental aspect of the new valve series also has to be noted. The valves improve the efficiency of district heating/cooling networks and subnetworks, lowering both the energy consumption and the heating/cooling costs. Danfoss Trata and the Jožef Stefan Institute have already received an award for their collaboration in 2015.
The second finalist in the TARAS award competition were the teams from company Plamtex INT and Jožef Stefan institute with their innovative software solution for artificial intelligence/machine learning-based automation of operation time forecasting in tool and die manufacturing.
Forum with top expert lectures
Even though the format of Industrial Forum IRT was different this year, this has not affected the quality and selection of its contents. The organisers made sure that everything was delivered to the eyes and ears digitally as envisaged. The visitors learned about the trends in automotive bodywork manufacturing from two representatives of HELLA SATURNUS SLOVENIJA, followed by the presentation of new technologies in plastic injection moulding, high thermal conductivity thermoplastic composites, and challenges in polycarbonate recycling.
Feedback from the engineers working in manufacturing companies also showed their great interest in comprehensive solutions for automated product metering, segmenting and sorting on the production lines, as well as in the solutions involving new collaborative robots. Strong interest was noted for the Industry 4.0 readiness index, as well as for the solutions for quality assurance in manufacturing processes.
Technology highlights at the e-Industrial Forum IRT also include smart lubrication and comparison of different welding, moulding and additive manufacturing technologies. The lectures also provided answers to questions regarding the competitiveness and readiness of 3D printing with metals for mass production.
See you again in June 2022
The date for Industrial Forum IRT 2022 has already been set. If the pandemic ends, the organisers are planning to hold the biggest professional event in Slovenia in classical format at the well-known location in Portorož. You are invited to mark 6 and 7 June 2022 in your calendars.
